Tatsuja
Tatsuja is a philosophy and a religion based upon the enlightenment of Lord Tatsu and the truth he told. Tatsuja is sometimes called the sixth school of the Elvish religion of the Yird, although many others consider it a separate branch. There are even four subschools of Tatsuja which are the Tenyarah or "School of the Ancients", Tenvishu or "School of the Meditative", Tenhayagi or "The Esoteric School", and the Tenkharaja or "The Reformed School". The beliefs that prove that all schools are of the same faith are the belief in Tatsu and his shunning of the violence and death, the following of his basic laws of a good life, and to remain courageous and tolerant in every aspect of life. Life of Tatsu Tatsu Akramagajiyah was born into the royal family of Mana in the year 237 of the fourth era. His father was the legendary King Hrudha who led the armies of the elves and conquered the dwarfish Kingdom of Angus and his mother was Bholkramya, the goddess of beauty and love. Tatsu was brought up in the Ayujhandra of his father and was taught the martial arts and the skills of a swordsman by his father. He eventually grew up and joined the united elvish army against the Dark Elvish Kingdom of Falaria in the Great Falaric War. When the joint high elf and wood elf army marched into the capital of Vharani, he joined in the mass killings of the inhabitants there and because of his royal blood, he was made king of Falaria. However Tatsu began to feel guilt and have frequent nightmares. Then one day he had a dream in which his mother came to him and told him to leave behind the great evils he had done in his past and to live the next day not a great king, but a protector of peace. The next day Tatsu left his kinghood behind and his fourteen-year-old son Apadhos took the throne for himself. Then Tatsu became an ascetic and lived among the homeless of Vharani. He even gave all of his remaining fortune to the homeless so that they may buy themselves property once more that was destroyed in the war. Tatsu still was not satisfied for the grief was still with him and one day he went over to an elvish maple tree and sat there and meditated. When he opened his eyes after thirty years of meditation, he saw himself parallel to the tree. This was his ego. From this, Tatsu learned that the ego was just a figment of his imagination and he let it go. No more grief. No more anger. No more sadness. No more negativity. No more sadness. Tatsu had learned the path to enlightenment and spent the rest of his life preaching about the great truth and for all sentient beings to remain happy in life and to let go of their selves. Concepts of Tatsuja Reincarnation Tatsuists believe in reincarnation, which is called avidhi in ancient Elvish and havathra in Taieian. Avidhi comes into being because of ava or the deeds of a person in their life. If a person does good, then he is reborn into a better life than before. If he does bad, then he is born into a worse life than before. Avidhi however can be stopped if a person becomes enlightened and all of his ava disappears. There are ten realms that those who have not yet reached enlightenment are born into: #Arava: the place where all who have more than half of their ava as bad and where the demon-king Aravos rules- Aravins #Zragadha: the invisible realm where the ghosts live and where the ghost lord Zragadhos rules- Zragadhins #Karathinyana: the realm of plants and fungal life where Karathina rules- Karathinados #Merghakayima: the realm where animals reside and where Orogos rules- Merghakayindhras #Miseleia: the realm of the orcs, goblins, and trolls where the Dark Lord Sanarus rules- Miseleiani #Vamanyana: called by the dwarfs Dvergarheimr; the realm of the dwarfs and dark elves where Vamana rules- Vamanados #Mineia: sometimes called Midgard; the realm of the humans and halflings where Mineius rules- Mineiani #Chatratia: called by the dwarfs Alfheimr; the realm of the high elves and wood elves where Chatrati rules- Chatratiani #Venakha: the home of the lower gods ruled by Argloth god of wisdom- Venakhani #Adhrama: the home of the higher gods ruled by King Gravadhra- Adhramadi Tokaimakdha is the elvish word for enlightenment and it literally translates to "breaking of the ten realms". The Way towards Tokaimakdha Tokaimakdha can be achieved by understanding the Three Universal Truths and by adhering to the Five Laws of Tatsu. Tokaimakdha is the goal of all Tatsuist branches. Three Universal Truths #To live means to experience negativity. #All negativity is caused by our desires for things we do not have, attaching to worldly possessions and ideas, and believing we are something we're not. #We can stop feeling negative by following the Five Laws of Tatsu and ergo achieving tokaimakdha. Five Laws of Tatsu #Do not steal or take things without permission that are not of your origination. #Do not kill or harm sentient beings in any way. #Do not attach to things that will cause you suffering. This also means do not be addicted to alcohol or drugs or become obsessed with a person or thing. #Live a life of peace and love. #Strive for enlightenment without being attached to the idea. The Branches of Tatsuja Tenyarah Tenyarah is the most ancient form of Tatsuja and the most orthodox. Tenyarahist men are born and taken away from their families to become monks and priests while girls become nuns. The head of all Tenyarahists is the Tatsugaru which means "Son of Tatsu" and he is akin to the Pope of Catholicism or the Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism. Tenyarahists also believe in the deities of the Elvish pantheon although they say they must die like all beings. Tenvishu Tenvishu is in many ways a Zen-like practice. It is devoid of all the religious dogma from the old Elvish polytheism and is without a high religious leader. The first Tenvishuan is said to be the monk Vyoukki who was born in Taieios and eventually moved to Mineii where he converted hundreds and built many temples, the largest being'' Vishuslanga or the House of Meditation. Tenvishu practice emphasizes letting go of attachment and desire and to strive for an enlightened self and a more peaceful world. Meditation is often through either tatravishu'' (sitting meditation), kimvishu (walking meditation), sabhavishu (writing meditation), or kalevishu (painting/drawing meditation). Tenhayagi Tenhayagi is the most mystic of all four branches and is considered the Esoteric faith by its followers. Tenhayagiists pray in lodges in the middle of the wilderness to idols of Tatsu who they believe became a god after his attainment of tokaimakdha. Tenhayagiists also are users of magic and are known to be some of the best wizards and witches the Yird has ever created. Tenkharaja The most reformed of the four branches is Tenkharaja. Tenkharaja denies the existence of any divinities and simply says Tatsu was a great man who left behind a life of killing to becoem a peace-keeper. Tenkharajaists are anti-war for the most part and are the most worldly of all the brances. They have Seven Laws of Tatsu with the sixth and seventh laws being "Help those weaker, less sophisticated intellectually, and poorer than yourself and never make fun or jeer at any being" and "Do not believe in immortal divinities, but do not try to stop others from believing in it for this creates arguments and thus negativity".